The great debate - to PC or not to PC

IT leaders have greater choice in end-user devices than ever before. The age of PC-only users is over and we have entered the multiple device era. In this guide, you can find best practice, analysis of the latest trends, and expert advice on formulating enterprise strategy in laptops, desktop PCs and mobile devices.

By submitting my Email address I confirm that I have read and accepted the Terms of Use and Declaration of Consent.

By submitting your personal information, you agree that TechTarget and its partners may contact you regarding relevant content, products and special offers.

You also agree that your personal information may be transferred and processed in the United States, and that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.

And in this highly competitive market, the strong US dollar combined with Brexit has meant IT budgets were squeezed as some device prices increased, rather than fell.

Looking at the major IT companies, this was the year of the Dell/EMC merger, making the newly formed Dell-EMC a strong player in the datacentre market. But it remained the third largest PC manufacturer, according to IDC’s Q2 2016 market share report. HP Inc, the PC and printers arm of post-split HP, was second, with a share of 20.8% while Lenovo was the biggest PC maker, with 21.2%.

The PC industry appears to be shifting towards “personal systems”, which covers any device used for computing; from smartphones and tablets, to laptops, notebooks and hybrid devices.

USB C made headlines at CES this year in Las Vegas, promising a universal connector for all devices, including those from Apple. It has the potential to make a radical change to the way office work space is organised. As Computer Weekly noted in January, a single cable for monitors, keyboards and mouse simplifies desk clutter.

What has been truly remarkable about Linux is not the operating system itself – although most web-scale organisations probably run their infrastructure on Linux systems – but the fact that it opened up the possibility of open source, as an alternative model to commercial software licencing.

Apart from Canonical with its Ubuntu Linux distribution, Linux has not really made a massive direct impact on the consumer and desktop computing. But Android, currently the most widely used operating system, is derived from Linux, and many popular websites are powered by Linux back-end systems.

It may have started with Siri, but the true artifiicial intelligence star of 2016 has been the recently launched Alexa voice-controlled assistant from Amazon.

The idea of a personal digital assistant harks back to early 1990s, with classic devices such as the Palm Pilot and Psion Organiser. But artificial intelligence offers the potential to revolutionise smartphones. “Alexa is the future of search, and smart agents have the potential to be the main user interface,” said Gartner research director Roberta Cozza.

Smartphone makers need something to boost sales. Apple released iOS 10 and the iPhone 7, and introduced a professional tablet with extras that include an add-on keyboard and smart pencil aimed squarely at the niche Microsoft has forged with its Surface Pro hybrid device. But many experts believe iPhone users will delay upgrading until next year when the iPhone 8 is released.

In the summer, Samsung was forced to recall 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphone devices worldwide because a number were found to have faulty batteries that made them vulnerable to overheating and catching fire.

In the coming year, IT departments will need to come to terms with aging Windows 7 desktop computing, and the dilemma of whether to invest in another major PC refresh or try something else.

Windows applications are the mainstay of desktop IT, but corporates are increasingly turning to Saas, delivered as mobile apps or browser based. Apple set about to change end user computing in 2010, with the first generation iPad. This has been joined by a multitude of Android tablets at different price points and hybrid PC devices like Microsoft’s Surface. At the same time, cloud-based software has meant applications can lean on powerful servers to do the heavy lifting. This means devices do not need to be as powerful from a computational perspective.

So the manufacturers are focusing instead on areas like collaboration, offering features such as Skype for Business and integration with Intel’s RealSense cameras.

0 comments

Register

Login

Forgot your password?

Your password has been sent to:

By submitting you agree to receive email from TechTarget and its partners. If you reside outside of the United States, you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Privacy